The courtship between Jeremiah Masoli and Ole Miss escalated on Wednesday as the Southeastern Conference program reportedly admitted the former Oregon quarterback to graduate school hours after Rebels head coach Houston Nutt contacted Ducks coaches about the player whose checkered past could soon include a probation violation.

According to the Rivals.com Rebels site Rebel Grove, University of Mississippi officials admitted Masoli to graduate school at the Oxford campus late Wednesday after carefully considering the former Heisman Trophy candidate's obvious talents against the off-the-field problems that got him dismissed from Oregon in June.

In a post late Tuesday on the Mississippi athletic department's Web site, Nutt addressed the issue of taking on any player this close to the start of the season.

"Rarely are there are any talented players still available in the summertime," said the coach who began considering Masoli after redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton quit the team on Saturday, leaving the Rebels with just two quarterbacks on scholarship.

"The process can be very difficult, because there's no relationship there. You have to go off the word of a coach. Plus the player has to trust you, because he hasn't met you or spent any time with you.

"The relationship factor makes it very difficult."

The Oregonian left messages for Oregon coach Chip Kelly, Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich and Mississippi's Nutt on Wednesday, but the calls were not returned. Kelly, according to various reports, talked with Nutt early Wednesday and with Helfrich prior to that.

After pleading guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge in Lane County Circuit Court in March, Masoli was dismissed from the Ducks' roster after a marijuana possession charge in Springfield Municipal Court in June.

Last week Masoli pleaded guilty to -- and paid a $613 fine in connection with -- the charges of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and failing to stop upon exiting a driveway.

Dan Koenig, Masoli's attorney, said the player, who led the Ducks to last season's Rose Bowl and has two years to use his remaining season of eligibility, is done with all matters involving the Springfield Municipal Court. He added, however, that last week's guilty plea may be deemed a violation of the yearlong probation Masoli received after his burglary conviction.

"There still is the potential that the district attorney could file a probation violation," Koenig said. "We don't know if they see these violations -- not crimes -- in Springfield as a probation violation."

The Lane County district attorney's office on Wednesday did not answer inquiries about the fate of Masoli's probation. The office, since news of his marijuana and traffic stop broke six weeks ago, has not answered The Oregonian's repeated requests for comment on how it will handle the matter.

The first condition of Masoli's probation, according to court documents, states that Masoli must not violate any law and must report any citation or arrest on any crime or traffic offense to the Lane County Circuit Court. The document later states that Masoli's conviction for second-degree burglary -- originally a felony charge -- would be treated as a misdemeanor "at this time" under terms of the probation.

Koenig said he also hasn't received any indication from the district attorney's office on how or when it will rule, but he and Masoli have done their best to make the choice an obvious one.

"We've tried to make it easy for them not to," Koenig said of the possibility that district attorney Alex Gardner could deem last week's guilty pleas a probation violation. "We've taken care all of his obligations. He's done his community restitution. He's kept the court advised to his residence. We've taken care of every single part. He's graduated and taken his GRE. Hopefully we've put in a good stead in terms with the court and the DA's office."

Masoli recently completed his undergraduate requirements in Eugene, which puts him on the verge of being eligible to transfer and play immediately. To transfer, the sociology major would have to enroll in a graduate program that Oregon doesn't offer, and his future university would have to request a waiver from Oregon.

The Rivals.com report would indicate that has now happened.

Earlier Wednesday, Nutt told reporters in Mississippi that he expects to make a decision in the coming days, possibly by the weekend.